1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to conduit cleaners, such as those used to grind/break up foreign matter within, or flush the surface of, a conduit and, more particularly, to a manipulator for the conduit cleaner that facilitates direction of the conduit cleaner into the entryway of a conduit remote from the user thereof.
2. Background Art
Conduit cleaners are well known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,785, to Latall, one such unit is described in detail. This unit has been very commercially successful.
Briefly, the Latall unit has a motor that is operable through a pressurized fluid. Fluid under pressure is directed to the motor to effect operation thereof and to a plurality of jets which cause discharge of the fluid in a trailing direction, which both affords propulsion to the unit and scours the inside of a conduit passageway. The motor drives a rotary blade at the front of the unit which grinds foreign matter within the conduit. A skid assembly facilitates guided movement of the unit within a conduit.
These units are typically used to route sewer lines. In one typical application, a large, vertically extending sewer shaft communicates with a horizontally extending conduit. The sewer shaft may be accessible through a ground level entryway that is closed by a man hole cover, with the entryway to the horizontally extending conduit being many feet below the main sewer opening. Typically, a unit, such as that in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,785, must be directed through the horizontal conduit. Since the horizontal conduit is not within the reach of a user above ground through the main sewer opening, several different techniques have been employed in the past to introduce the conduit cleaner to the horizontal conduit.
In a first method, the user effects the introduction solely by manipulating a fluid supply conduit that is operatively connected to the conduit cleaner. The supply line is normally flexible but has sufficient rigidity to allow the user to effect reorientation of the conduit cleaner. Typically, the user will blindly lower the conduit cleaner through the supply line into the sewer opening into alignment with the entryway for the horizontal conduit by feeding an amount of the supply conduit out roughly corresponding to the depth of the horizontal conduit. After proper alignment is achieved, the user swings the supply line back and forth in hopes that the conduit cleaner will find its way into the horizontal conduit entryway. Since the entryway to the horizontal conduit is normally not visible from overhead, this operation usually involves trial and error.
Alternatively, the user may be required to feel out the entryway by dragging the conduit cleaner up and down against the wall of the sewer shaft. Both of the above procedures are often frustrating and time consuming endeavors.
One alternative method of introducing the conduit cleaner to the horizontal conduit requires that the user physically move down the sewer shaft into close proximity to the horizontal entryway. In this position, the user can positively feed the conduit cleaner into the horizontal conduit. While this procedure is the most reliable known to date, once the user is required to actually enter the sewer opening, the element of danger is introduced. The user is prone to injury unless the procedure is carefully and properly carried out.
In spite of the drawbacks with the prior art equipment and procedures to date, no alternative exists to those described above for introducing a conduit cleaner into a horizontal conduit remote from a user.